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National Campaign for the Arts
The National Campaign for the Arts is a broad and inclusive coalition that reflects the scale, reach and diversity of the arts in Ireland today. Following Colm Toibin’s introduction on Morning Ireland, a number of celebrated Irish artists came together to launch The National Campaign For the Arts last week.
Singer, Mary Black, actress and star of In America and The Tudors, Sarah Bolger, comedian Risteard Cooper, singer/songwriter Damian Dempsey, Mercury Prize nominee Lisa Hannigan, actress and novelist Amy Huberman, Oscar and IFTA winning director Neil Jordan, internationally acclaimed composer Bill Whelan, television star Don Wycherly and other representatives of Ireland’s music, film, theatre, literary and visual arts industries were there to give their support to a campaign highlighting the value of the arts to Ireland’s economic and social recovery.
The Campaign aims to lay an emphasis on the importance of the arts. It calls for the retention of Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide, and the Irish Film Board, both of which face possible closure following the recent recommendations of the McCarthy Report (An Bord Snip). It also calls for the maintenance of existing levels of arts funding for the Arts Council as well as full representation at senior cabinet level.
The National Campaign for the Arts was established as the first ever umbrella organisation for the diverse arts sectors in Ireland and provides a voice for the country’s artists and arts organisations. It petitions to ensure that the arts are on local and national government agendas and welcomes an open debate on the arts as a vital part of contemporary Irish life. Its membership has a national reach that includes major festivals, venues, producers and representative organisations in visual arts, theatre, film, dance, music, literature, architecture and collaborative arts.
Since the launch there has been considerable coverage of the campaign in the national media. Details regarding the campaign are included in the campaign blog at www.ncfa.ie.
Below is the opening paragragh of Roddy Doyle’s speech which he made at the Theatre Forum/ Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival event for Dublin TDs and Dublin City Councillors which took place on September 24 2009. (This event took place in the Gaiety Theatre and was followed by The Manganiyar Seduction. The speech was also printed in the Sunday Independent, Sunday 27 September)
“I want to talk about pride. The pride I felt as I watched Conor McPherson’s great play, THE WEIR, and it struck me that its author grew up two miles away from where I’d grown up. Or, more recently, as I sat in Cineworld on Parnell Street, watching Lance Daly’s film, KISSES, surrounded by young Dubliners who could have been extras in the film. In fact, they could have been its stars. As I watched that film, I loved my city, loved its accents and wit, loved the fact that even its ugly corners could be, and had been, made beautiful.
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The National Campaign for the Arts asserts the fundamental importance of the arts to economic recovery and calls for:
> Retention of Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide
> Retention of The Irish Film Board, development agency of the Irish film industry
> Maintenance of existing levels of funding to the Arts Council
> Retention of the artists income tax exemption scheme
> Commitment to retain the arts portfolio at cabinet as part of a senior ministerial portfolio
